League Two Opponents - Crewe Alexandra

12 June 2017

Lewis Richards

We Take a look through the sides that we will come up against in League Two next season.

Who Are They?

Crewe Alexandra were formed in 1877 and were to be named after Princess Alexandra. They came into the world of football after splitting up with a local cricket team in Cheshire as they played their first ever game with North Staffs, a few weeks later. Port Vale are The Railwaymen’s greatest rivals with just 13 miles separating Vale Park and Gresty Road.

Although Crewe are now in League Two, they carry quite an impressive history; such as reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 1888, only to lose out to Preston North End. They have also won the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and the League Two Play-Off final which both occurred in 2012. Crewe are also well known for a highly successful academy, and have assisted in the progression of several successful players, such as Dean Ashton, Danny Murphy and Neil Lennon.

How Did They Perform Last Season?

After worrying stages for the Crewe Alex faithful, The Railwaymen managed to stay in League Two after finishing 17th in the table. In what was a fairly bright start, results caught up on Crewe which lead to the departure of previous manager, Steve Davis, in January. David Artell managed to keep them in league as they hope for a better season this time round.

In cup competitions, The Alex managed to defeat League One Champions Sheffield United 2-1 in the EFL Cup before losing out to Blackburn Rovers 4-3, in the second round. They were knocked out in the group stages of the Checkatrade Trophy and likewise with the FA Cup as they lost 4-1 to Cheltenham Town.

Our Last Meeting

There have been 73 games from 1892 between the two rivals, where Vale have come out on top 33 times. The last meeting came in the 2015/16 League One campaign when The Valiants stormed to a 3-0 win.

Louis Dodds grabbed a goal on the third minute and did so again with three minutes to go, the other goal came from JJ Hooper with just seconds to play on the clock – in front of 5700 spectators at Vale Park.

How To Get There

From Vale Park, take the A500 slip road towards Nantwich (M6 North) as you follow the signs towards Chester. Follow the signs towards Shavington and Basford, where Crewe will come into vision.

By Train

Gresty Road is about a five-minute walk from Crewe Train Station and is very easy to get to from the Stoke-on-Trent area.

Odds On Promotion

Sky Bet have places Crewe at 8/1 to get promoted next season. To win the division, the odds of 28/1 can be found on Sky Bet.